am·bi·ent ice cream (noun): An environmentally-friendly version of ice cream that can save energy by being distributed and sold at room temperature (and then frozen at home).

The Times of London reported on August 24, 2009, that Unilever, the owner of Ben & Jerry’s and other ice cream brands, was developing a
“low-carbon” product:

Unilever hopes that a product sold at room temperature will help to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ice cream is one of the company’s more
energy-intensive products because of the need to keep it frozen during
transport and storage. . . .

A spokesman for Unilever said that warm, or so-called ambient, ice
cream was a “very interesting idea” but one that posed tough challenges
that its scientists were trying to solve. “The key question which has
yet to be fully answered is: how do you ensure that, when the ambient
ice cream is frozen at home it will have the right microstructure to
produce a fantastic consumer experience?”

However, Unilever denied it was developing any such product in an article published today on FoodNavigator.com: "A spokesperson for Unilever told FoodNavigator.com today that ambient ice cream is “something we are aware of, but we have no plans to develop this kind of product”. He declined to give details of any research or progress in the industry
at large, but said the R&D ice cream specialists are “aware of all sorts of ideas."

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV is coming under fire from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for a marketing campaign that features Bud Light cans decorated with college-team colors. The FTC is concerned that the campaign could encourage underage and binge drinking.

Following complaints from area businesses, the Los Angeles Police Department initiated a crackdown on food trucks parked along the "Miracle Mile" stretch of Wilshire Boulevard. Citations were issued to the mobile vendors for "illegal vending."

Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which got a gig boost in sales from the film "Julie & Julia," will debut next week at #1 on the New York Times best-seller list in the "advice and how-to" category.

Fresh peas on Pennsylvania Avenue? Could a farmers market be coming to the White House?

According to remarks made by President Barack Obama at yesterday's Organizing for America health care forum, the creation of a small farmer's market is being considered just outside of the White House:

"So, you know, Michelle set up that garden in the White House. One of
the things that we're trying to do now is to figure out, can we get a
little farmer's market outside of the White House -- I'm not going to
have all y'all just tromping around -- (laughter) -- but right outside
the White House so that we can -- and that is a win-win situation. It
gives suddenly D.C. more access to good, fresh food, but it also is
this enormous potential revenue maker for local farmers in the area.
And those kids of connections can be made all throughout the country
and has to be part of how we think about health."